Arab Intellectuals and the West

Book excerpt: This book by Sharabi traces the history of Arab intellectuals in the 19th century and of the evolving schools of thought in the Arab world that was divided among conservative Muslims, reformist Muslims and secular nationalists. Such schools of the thought in the Arab world were provoked by the arrival of the French expedition of Napoleon in Egypt in 1798. The interaction between the French and the Egyptians made Arabs realize how far they have become form the modern world and the need to modernize. While conservative Muslims believed that change was a matter of betraying the teachings of religion, propagators of reforming Islam called for the revision of Muslim practices saying that it was only by restoring religion to its original form that the Muslim nation would be able to catch up on the world's civilization advances. Reformers, however, fell short of advocating a coherent agenda for change as their calls eventually fell on deaf ears. Meanwhile, non-Muslim subjects of the Ottoman empire were keen to come up with a formula that would allow them to be treated as citizens with full rights. Accordingly, intellectuals of these minorities advanced secular nationalism ideologies, certainly under the influence of a surge of such ideas in Europe. Sharabi narrates with skill the career of the most important figures of that era and his book allows readers to understand the origins of current ideological and intellectual trends in the Arab world.